


Tear in my Heart

by CLBinns



Category: Rizzoli & Isles
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-12-04 14:17:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11556939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CLBinns/pseuds/CLBinns
Summary: Maura Isles' life isn't going as planned. Her fiance is leaving, her dream job is out of reach, and she keeps fucking up with her students. Especially the fiery Rizzoli who has problems of her own. Her reputation, home life and expensive hobby is taking up more time than she anticipated. Will the two become unlikely friends or will they butt heads?Not your typical school story!





	1. Chapter 1

It was only sixth thirty when Angela Rizzoli began pacing the landing. Her three children were due back at school after the summer break and her eldest was the first to be awoken. Jane had attempted to bury her head deeper into the pillow when she first heard her bedroom door creak. The holidays had ended way too early for her liking, she had always hated school and thought the only good thing about the first day back was catching up with friends. However, she was now 17 and in her senior year, so she had been allowed more freedom, she no longer had any reason to catch up with friends that she had seen just the night before. Never the less when her mother sat on her bed causing the weight to shift, Jane grumbled and turned over, facing away from her mother trying her best to avoid having to leave the comfort of her bed. "Jane, you have to get up, it's your first day back. It's your final year!" Was gently whispered to the reluctant teen who was hidden beneath both quilt and unruly curls. Taking the covers and pulling them further over her head, she groaned. Then an almost inaudible 'fine', was muttered through gritted teeth. There wasn't a chance that Jane could go back to sleep now anyway. Her mother ruined everything, free time, weekends, and sleep. Now for the second time that morning the weight on the bed shifted as Angela left her daughter alone to get ready. A few seconds later the same grumble was heard across the corridor. Jane smirked to herself, knowing that little brother Frankie had met the same first day of school fate as she had, throwing the covers aside and forcing herself out of bed.

Just twenty minutes later Jane was heading downstairs for breakfast when she saw her father trying to sneak out early for work as she descended. "Bye then." She shouted to the already closed door. He didn't start work until nine, and there was no need to leave this early especially not without saying bye for the day first. How rude? Jane thought about joining her mother at the breakfast table, there was already a plate of bunny pancakes made up for her and her brothers for when they were ready. Jane had no idea how her mother did it. Jane couldn't even slightly function before noon, no matter how many cups of coffee she had drank. But her mother was always up early making sure all the kids had eaten before school and her going to work.

Shortly after she had finished breakfast Jane left for school. This summer she had started a job at the local pizza place, from which she had saved enough money to buy an old car with a little help of her parents. It wasn't much but got her where she needed to go and a promotion to delivery driver. She climbed in to her car and started to wind the window down, the handle was a manual, the kind that sticks, but the air con hadn't worked hadn't worked since its first owner. In fact she was sure was older than she was, as it often needed a few seconds to warm up after she had started the engine. When it was finally ready she pulled out of the drive and into the street. Within five minutes she had arrived at her partner in crime, Barry's, house. They had been her best friend since freshman year when they were placed in the same home room and science class, the same thing had happened every year since, they were just hoping that it didn't change in their senior year. She honked her horn to alert Barry to her arrival. The young man came out of his house and to the car carrying two takeaway cups. Jane smiled, her only request was that in exchange for a lift to school, was Barry making her a coffee in the morning. Once Barry had got in the car Jane took her coffee from him and took a sip before perching it in the cup holder and setting off to school. Their school was only half an hour drive from Barry's but it was already 8am. If they hit any traffic they were going to miss home room and getting their time tables for the year ahead. Usually Jane wouldn't care but on the first day, the first lesson going right means the rest will follow and she really wasn't in the mood for a crappy day, her sleeping pattern was all messed up leaving her functioning on just six hours sleep, she had always needed eight to function properly. She kept sipping her coffee as she drove and complained about her lack of sleep, and the end of her holiday.

The two managed to get to school just on time, and even found a parking space much more easily than Jane had anticipated. They grabbed their things from the back seats before locking the car and walking together to home room. When they got to their usual home room classroom they managed to bag their usual seats, which had gone completely unchanged throughout their high school years thanks to the unspoken rules of ever high school. The room was already alive with the usual sound of chatting, people who hadn't seen each other through summer break were catching up as they usually did, this was usually a sign that they were either too busy during the holidays to see each other or are only friends in class, both of which seemed ridiculous. Jane made her friends a pretty high priority, after only her family. The chatting stopped as the soft sound of heels entering the room echoed. The entire class fell silent as they turned their attention to a young woman who couldn't have been no older than 23. The blonde stood nervously at the head of the class, no one had expected that they wouldn't be seeing an ageing man who could barely stay awake, but was adamant he was going to keep teaching until their class had graduated. 

"Good morning class, I'm Miss Isles. I know you were expecting Mr Smith, however his health has greatly deteriorated over the past month so he has taken the decision to retire. I will be your form tutor in his place for your final year. I am sure I will get to know you all in fair time. I would rather we don't do those ice breaker things. However, I'd like you to be considerate and help me learn your names swiftly." The young blonde managed to ramble on for a few minutes before the blank faces looking back at her made her come to a halt. She smiled shyly. She was a very anxious and it showed. She handed out the timetables instead to kill the time until the end of the lesson using them as an excuse to begin to learn names. As she passed them around she had become aware that the only person who thanked her was the girl sat on the back row, hidden behind a fringe of raven hair. It made her feel calmer to know that at least one person was going to be nice to her and her manners were nice too. Finally the bell rang allowing a look of relief to wash over the new teacher's face. People stood up quickly and began to filter out of the room without so much as a second look. Again apart from the girl with dark hair. "I'll see you later, Miss Isles. Have a nice first day."


	2. Chapter 2

By the last period of the day Jane was almost able to relax, although the lesson couldn't be over quick enough. It was only the first day back but she had already earned a detention for talking in class. As well as upsetting some freshman kid, seriously why are their bags so huge? She wouldn't have knocked her over if she hadn't almost been taken out by a boulder attached to a toddler's shoulder. She had fumed to herself as she walked into class. The final class of the day was science and once again she and Barry found themselves in the same class. Much like their first year Jane chose some seats in the second row, which confused Barry when he joined the class a few seconds later

This year they had Miss Isles for her science teacher as well as her home room tutor. The blonde teacher had been so nervous that morning that Jane was intrigued to see if her actual teaching style differed, if it was just nerves, and if it had subsided yet. In truth Jane probably felt a little sorry for her. It can't be easy standing there in front of people not much younger than you, and having to be the one in control. She could barely make it through an oral presentation without wanting to scream, never mind being a teacher and having to do that every day.

As usual the lesson had dragged. The final lesson of the day is always the worst and the slow ticking of the clock always adds to the torture. In fact Jane was sure that schools invested in extra loud clocks just to make student's lives more miserable than they already were. However, there was only ten minutes left of class, only ten minutes before Jane could honestly say she had managed to survive her first day of senior year with only one detention. Every few seconds or so she'd glance at the clock watching the time pass drawing the lesson to an end. Five minutes left to the end of the lesson Miss Isles had finished her lesson. "Okay, so tonight I just want you guys to write me an essay, nothing big, just a few words about you. I'd like to get to know you all a little bit. If you'd like to slowly pack away your things you can leave a few minutes early, however you will have to move silently through the halls and not disrupt any other classes. Thank you."

As everyone else left the lesson Jane held back and waited for a few minutes. She could see that the new teacher was still very nervous. Jane knew that it would subside in a few days when she got into it. "Hello, Miss Isles. I just wanted to make sure your first day went well." She smiled. Her attention divided between the teacher and Barry who stood outside the door, pulling a face. With a simple look from Jane he quickly decided to wait against the wall opposite and check his phone. He had learned that he shouldn't try and understand her and he definitely shouldn't annoy her. Jane returned her attention to her teacher, who was finally answering her question.   
"It's been fine thank you for asking. Could have been better, but fine none the less. There's really no need to check up on me though, Miss Rizzoli." The statement sounded cold and annoyed causing Jane's jaw to drop open slightly. The Blondes tone of voice had felt like a slap to the face but Jane didn't really know why.  
"Woah, okay, Jeez, I was just trying to be nice. I wasn't checking up on you at all, I just wanted to ask." Jane had shot back her response before she had even had chance to filter it.  
"Watch your tone, Rizzoli. Yeah, I know who you are. Don't worry I've heard the horror stories. If you're trying to find weakness I suggest you look elsewhere. Didn't you once traumatised a substitute teacher so much she ran out of a classroom never to return to teaching?" Jane let her face drop. The facade was over but no matter how she had tried to hide the hurt caused she knew it was plastered all over her face. She now had two choices, in true Rizzoli fashion she went with the one that would cause the most trouble.   
"Thanks for judging me before getting to know me, I am NOT as bad as they say! Fuck you for believing them." She turned quickly hiding the tears that were pooling in her eyes, then stormed out of the room slamming the door loudly behind her.

Maura stared at the recently slammed door, sighing loudly. Resting her head in her hands she quietly cursed herself. She had managed to make a complete idiot of herself and alienate a student on the first day. Replaying the last five minutes in her head she just felt worse. The girl was right, she had been nothing but nice all day and there’s always two sides to every story. Maura knew that was in the wrong, she hadn't given Jane a chance and she had no idea how to fix it! The silence had all but engulfed her when the door suddenly creaked. She lifted her head quickly, hoping, beyond all logic that it was Jane. Even if it meant that she'd have to find a way to apologize or at least have an argument. However it was the principle, Mr Korsak, and Maura wasn't sure what was worse. "Hey Maura." He began cheerfully. "How was your first day?"   
She tried her best to smile as she answered. "It was okay, I guess, thanks Vince. I just have one question; the Rizzoli girl, what is she really like?"  
"Rizzoli, eh?" Vince sounded unsure as he answered. "She's a good kid if not a little misunderstood. She's definitely not half as bad as people like to make out, that's mostly rumours, sometimes started by the other kids, often exaggerated by the staff. It’s probably best to ignore it, she's got good intentions, but her actions worry me. Is she giving you problems?" Maura half smiled feeling worse than she already did.   
"No problems at all, Vince, she's doing great. I've just heard so much about her today and wondered how true it all was."   
He gave Maura a knowing look before turned to leave. When he had got to the door he turned back to the blonde, "Any trouble, just send her to me."


	3. Chapter 3

Jane had been driving for five minutes before Barry had even dared to ask what had happened between her and their new teacher. Jane changed gear, pretending not to have heard the question. It worked for a few seconds before she could feel his questioning stare. "Dude, she's a total bitch. Nothing to tell. She just made a snap judgement like everyone else." Barry didn't respond letting the silence fill the car. He knew Jane well and knew when to shut up and let things lie. However once they had pulled over and he was safely out of the car, he spoke again. "Jane, give her a second chance, she probably feels awful." Always the voice of reason, always too forgiving, it made Jane sick. "It's not my problem if she feels bad. I'll text you later when I've calmed down." The door closed and Jane disappeared off down the street, leaving Barry staring at his empty street.

Jane would often go for a long drive to have time to herself. Especially after particularly rough days, a coping mechanism she had learnt from her mother. However today felt different though, right now she was really mad, almost mad enough to hit something and driving to nowhere just hadn't worked. So after an hour she finally gave up trying to drive her anger away. Stopping by the local mall to grab a quick coffee. She turned off the engine and screamed. Taking a deep breath she ran her hands through her hair before grabbing her things and getting out of the car. The mall was home to a single independent coffee shop. The kind of coffee shop that held a bunch of open mic nights. Tonight it was pretty quiet. Jane went up to order. The barista smiled at the obviously annoyed brunette. "Caramel latte, coming right up. Take a seat we'll bring it over as soon as it's done." Jane half smiled looking for a comfortable place to sit. Deciding on the comfy looking sofa at the back she took out her note pad ready to write the essay that Miss Isles had asked for. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to or not, but thought it best. Mostly just to make the teacher feel bad, maybe guilty. She Began writing as the waitress brought her coffee over. She thanked her and went back to the essay not seeing the flyer that had been drop beside the coffee cup. Within ten minutes she had finished the essay. Feeling like it wasn’t that long but not really caring she shoved it back in her bag so that she could type it up later. She finished her coffee and stood to leave, finally seeing the piece of card on the table. Picking it up with the rest of her things she left the coffee shop and returned to her car.

Throwing the rest of her things into the back seat Jane began to read over the flyer. “Are you 7-17? Looking for a fast paced, new sport? Then come join Boston Roller Derby Juniors!” Jane had heard of Roller Derby before. She wondered if she could really join the league. Whether it was too late, whether or not to wait the nine months until her 18th birthday so that she could join the adult’s league. She scanned the flyer for the rest of the information seeing that the newer kids in the league were training that evening she decided to check it out before deciding on anything. She checked the time and seeing that it was 5:30, their training started at 6. She started to drive knowing she’d make the beginning of training.

Jane pulled into the Roller Rink’s car park at 5:45! She grabbed her things and rushed inside before her nerves could stop her. This was the first time that she had every investigated anything this quickly. She wasn’t sure what would come of it, but she knew she was excited. Once inside she stood around for a few minutes watching some of the women kitting up before some tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey, you okay?” A woman who must have been in her mid-thirties smiled at Jane waiting for an answer. “Hi, yeah, I’m good. I just wanted to come down and see what this derby thing is… I got given this at a coffee shop earlier.” Jane passed the woman the flyer, as she did the brunette relaxed a little.  
“Oh, Hi, I’m Maya Mangleyou. I train the older juniors which I’m guessing is the category you’d fit into? How old are you?”  
“I’m Jane. Jane Rizzoli. Yeah, I’m 17. I’ll be 18 in nine months though so I don’t know whether to wait.”  
“No Jane, don’t be silly you can start straight away with the juniors, those nine months are nine months you could be skating. Now, I’m guessing you know it’s a full contact sport? Until you’re on the main team you probably won’t be doing a lot of contact. However, at your age we will be doing some contact. Have you ever skated before?”  
“I skated a little when I was really young, I’m not sure how good I’ll be at it now! But I’ll definitely give it a go.”  
“That’s good. What I’ll do is, I’ll get you the forms you need to fill out, the information of where to get kit, and a list of the kit you need. I have to tell you that dues are $100 for three months, this should be paid before the first session. You will have to wait until Thursday now so that we can go through the skills, we will try and rush you through them, we don’t want you training with the very young kids longer than necessary, more for you than anyone else. Let me go grab them while you take a seat and watch the first bit of the session.” Jane smiled and walked over to the bleachers.

She took a seat on the first row watching the beginners. They were all much younger than she was. The oldest being around 12. She was now more nervous than she was when she first walked in. She didn’t want to train with people so much younger than she was. She listened to the skills and watched the coach demonstrate how to do them. She knew she could do most of these skills if she gave herself the push she needed. She was completely engrossed in how to do a crossover when she was joined by Maya. “What do you think? Recon you could do it?”  
“I’d give it a go.” Jane smiled, not looking towards Maya yet. “How long does it take to learn to skate?”  
“That depends, some people take a few weeks, some a few years. We all learn if we’re dedicated. Anyway I have a list of what you need, where you can get it. We do have a few bits you can borrow until you get sorted, but they’re limited so get here early! We also need you to sign this, and your mom to sign this.” Maya paused as Jane rolled her eyes. “We know you’re almost old enough to sign yourself but it’s a formality. As I’ve mentioned it’s $100 for 3 months, as well as the kit, so it’s pretty expensive. If you can’t afford it or struggle we do offer a scholarship. Any questions?”  
“I think I got everything. So, I can start Thursday?” Jane sounded Hopeful!  
“Yep. Thursday 6pm! Get here as early as possible for a better chance of getting the pads and skates you need. Now, you’re welcome to stay and watch for a while. If I don’t see you at the end I’ll see you Thursday! Bye!” Maya skated from the seats to join in the coaching. Jane watched as she went watching and appreciated how effortless the woman made skating look. She decided to stay and watch for another half an hour before waving to the woman who had helped her get sorted and setting off home. 

Jane finally made it home just after 7 O’clock, which was much later than usual. She walked into the kitchen to find her mother. "Hey ma, sorry I didn't make it home for dinner. I had somethings to do after school." She smiled at her mother apologetically knowing now was not the time to ask for the form to be filled in. She knew her mother hated it when anyone in the family missed dinner, and I was angry so I went for a drive instead, and decided to drop in on a local derby practice probably wasn't a great excuse. Especially followed up by will you sign this form so I can play? Also I’m probably going to have to use some of my savings to buy the kit.  
"Don't worry Janie, at least you called to let me know!" Her mother sighed, sounding disappointed and cutting into Jane’s thought quickly changing them.  
"Pop isn't home then? Working late again?" The sarcasm evident in her voice. Jane was quickly becoming suspicious of her father and his working habits. No man goes from working 6-7 hours a day to 12 hours. Not in a matter of days anyway!  
"Well he hasn't called yet, but he'll still want his dinner on the table when he gets in. Well I might give it to the dog. At least she'll appreciate it." With that statement Jo Friday's ears perked up. Jane laughed a little before going silent and staring back to her mother.  
"Jo seemed to like that idea. Anyway, I have some homework to be doing. Better get on with it." Jane said before leaving the kitchen and running upstairs to her room.

It was about an hour into her homework time when she heard the door open. At half eight her dad was about to be in some serious trouble. Jane even noticed her brother Frankie turning down his computer game to listen in to the argument that was about to unfold. Youngest brother, Tommy had ran into her room, his sanctuary. He knew his big sister was always going to look after him. There was a twelve year age gap between the siblings and a five year age gap between Jane and Frankie. Being the oldest she always felt responsible for the two kids. However Frankie was now adamant he could look after himself and didn't need Jane's help, but she knew if the argument got really bad he's be in here just as quick as he once would have been the minute voices were raised. For now though she took the youngest on to her knee and played him some music on her old iPod she hadn’t personally used for years. He sat quite happily with the headphones on drowning out his parents voices. Ignorance was still bliss for him.  
Finally she was ready to start typing up her homework for Miss Isles. She felt like this was the time to set the record straight. To put across her side of the story. Even if it didn't get her anywhere she was still going to try. All she could do was try. At the very least she was going to make the woman take notice.


	4. Chapter 4

Maura awoke early finding the bed beside her empty. She hated waking up alone. It was something that was happening more often recently. She had first met her fiancé back in high school. However Ian had recently managed to get a job helping save children in Africa, where in Africa he hadn’t told her. He left in two months, and Maura was sure that'd be it for them. He was becoming more and more distant. She woke up at six alone and went to bed at eleven alone. She was lucky if she saw him for more than an hour a day. She was sure he had slept in the spare room at least twice this week. She wanted to scream at him to see if he had any passion left, but she knew he didn't. It was something that she tried to pretend it didn't bother her, even though it did. She knew that it was best just to move on with her life and leave the disappointment behind she couldn’t. He was her first and only love. She laid in bed for an extra five minutes. She wondered how she could have let it get this far. Did she need to be loved this desperately? Eventually she dragged herself out of bed and started to face the day.

She had gotten ready quickly, especially for her. She couldn't wait to leave the house, well apart from having to go to work. Maura was aware that she had the first hour with the Rizzoli girl. Which was somehow worse than staying home and looking at the photographs of her and Ian, back when they were happy, truly and completely happy. But with Rizzoli she knew she was in the wrong and she had to make it up to the younger woman, she just had no idea how. There was something about the young woman that intrigued Maura. It could just have been her fiery attitude she had when she had been insulted or the fact that it only seemed to bother her when Maura called her on her reputation, or the way she was the only one who thought to ask how her day was. Whatever it was she knew Jane would not be ignored and she definitely wouldn’t let Maura’s Mistake go unanswered.

Maura left the house at 7:45 which was 15 minutes more time than what she needed to actually drive to school, but she wanted to get there early. She figured there was no need in trying to hide. She made a mistake and she was wrong but she had to face it. Jane wasn't going to let it go so why pretend she would. Once at her desk she spent a few minutes just staring at the clock. The minutes ticked down until her homeroom class came in. Five minutes until class she started to feel slightly panicked, her heart was beating much faster than she had expected. She was too focused on her breathing to hear to the door open, or in fact she realise that someone else was in the room, until a piece of paper was slammed onto the desk. With her thoughts interrupted she could do nothing else but look up and see who had put it there. Her eyes locked with Jane's. She took a second to stare into the brunette’s large eyes before shooting an apologetic look at her student. "The biology homework" was spat in Maura's direction. She swallowed hard weakly managing to choke out a quick thank you, but Jane was already making her way to the back of the classroom. She took her seat on the fifth row and slung her feet up onto the desk. A simple act of rebellion as other students began to filter in. Maura kept her eyes of the defiant teen. She couldn’t look away. She began to admire the attitude that was probably going to cause her more issues than even she could anticipate. Finally, she managed to tear her eyes away long enough to start the lesson.

"Jane, take your feet off the desk, please?" Eventually, after trying to ignore the behaviour for a few minutes hoping the teen would get bored and give up, Maura spoke, even though she never intended it to come out as a question, it definitely sounded that way. Jane just squared her jaw and smirked. It was exactly what Maura expected this far into the standoff. There was a chance that this is what she had in store for the rest of the year. "Jane, feet." She spoke again more sternly. She didn't want to push it much more because the next sentence was something she knew she'd regret. But again, Jane ignored her request. "Jane, I told you to take your feet of the desk, since you ignored me, twice, you can see me tonight at 4 O'clock for detention. Oh, and take your feet off my desk." Maura finally spoke in the matter of fact, strong tone she had tried to muster the times before. The feet finally fell, but Jane's stare remained cold for the next hour.

Maura finally had a chance to look over the homework that she had asked for at the end of yesterday's biology lesson at lunch time. She had only got three pieces back with the rest of her students complaining that it was too short of notice. Jane's the only one she had really cared about at this point. Maura could see quite quickly that Jane’s essay was the longest at a full page rather than three very short paragraphs. Probably just to make Maura feel worse she thought, Jane seemed like that petty sort of teenager. She read the others first putting the sheets next to their names in her organiser as she finished them. It was a device she learned back in college, it was used to remember names, and personalities. Finally she got round to Jane's.

**Who I really am.**

**By Jane Rizzoli.**

_I start this futile attempt to introduce myself to you safe in the knowledge that you've already managed to judge me. The unfair and unjust judgement was based on the opinions of sheep and 'A lion does not lose sleep over the opinions of sheep' - Game of thrones. Well, if you do in fact decide to read this, which I'm not sure you will, you may change your opinion as quickly as you acquired it._

_Now, I could tell you stupid things, like I prefer Coke to Pepsi or Burger King to McDonalds. Or I could tell you about my hobbies, like the fact I used to go rock climbing as a kid or play video games with my little brothers, and I never let them win. I could tell you that I watch way too much TV, or the kind of music I listen to daily, or what my favourite movie is. I could tell you the trivial things about my life that you don't give a flying monkey about, or I could tell you about me._

_First of all, I am a nice person. I may not be the nicest person, but I try. I don't go around hurting people for the fun of it. My reputation says otherwise, and I am aware of that. People are not their reputations. They are people, they have faults, and they have weaknesses. That substitute had many weaknesses. She left after an entire day of people being rude and ignoring her. I was just the straw that broke the camel's back. I walked in five minutes late. It doesn't matter why though. I was late so in your mind I was probably trying to skip class, right? Wrong. I was trying to get in touch with my younger brother's school. He had rang me crying because an older kid was picking on him. So, I was a little late. How was I supposed to know that she was so close to snapping? Did the other teachers tell you how she barged past me knocking me to the floor? How I managed to bloody my nose as I landed? Of course not, that just takes away the drama of how awful I am, doesn’t it?_

_Second of all, I do try in lessons. I may not be very smart, but I try as hard as I can and often get Cs. I know that Cs are average, however sometimes you have to take them as a victory. Most of my detentions are for talking in class that much is true. Most of the time I am just asking someone I understand to explain things for me. Some teachers explain things in the same way no matter how many times you ask or tell them it doesn’t make. I sometimes just need to find a different way of looking at it. We’re not all the same. "If you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree it'll spend its whole life believing it's stupid" - Albert Einstein. I may not be a monkey, but I'm not the fish either. I'm more of a giraffe. I don’t climb the tree, I just stand beside it and reach my neck a little higher. I can be proud of that. I may not be intellectual or academic, but I try. I'm sorry if people can't see that._

_Finally you don't know me. You know nothing about me. Who I am at school is completely different to who I am at home, which is different, yet again, to who I am when I'm alone. What I've learned over the years is that you are never your whole self, just parts of you. Hopefully, one day I will learn to be my whole self even just for a few minutes. Hopefully, I will finally be at peace about who and what I am. At this moment in time I am battling myself on many things and I cannot say that I am proud of myself. But one of these days I will be able to look back on this and think, they may have judged me before they knew me, they may have told lies about me, they may have put me down, but I am stronger than them and I proved them wrong. I know that before I graduate I will have shown you just how much this Rizzoli is worth and you will regret judging me. And that, Miss Isles, is a promise I vow to keep._

_In conclusion 'I don't care what you think as long as it's about me,' - Fall Out Boy. I know I can prove everybody wrong, I know that I can better myself and I know that whatever it is that you think about me, ultimately doesn't matter. What I think of myself is what is important. So, carry on talking in the staff room, because I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am. You will regret this day one day, Miss Isles. I just hope I'm around to see it and it’s not just a thought you have in a few years’ time._

 

It didn't take Maura long to realise just how defensive this young woman was. Her opening sentence showed a very self-protected person. Someone who didn't want to be judged. Someone who pretended they couldn't care less while in reality they cared all too much. The things that the second paragraph described was what Maura had expected from people when she had set the piece. Something was now telling her that Jane was not a typical student. She pushed her hand through her hair trying not to groan loudly as she continued reading, the feelings of guilt building. How could she have been so stupid?

The end of the day come promptly, the afternoon slipping away. Maura was busy doing some extra research when the door creaked open. A more sheepish Rizzoli entered the room and closed the door behind her. Taking a seat at the front she pulled out a book and placed it on the desk. After searching for a pen for a few seconds, she pulled one from the bottom of her bag. She set to work completing some maths homework. The room remained silent for a couple of minutes except from the click of computer keys. Maura deafened by the silence was the first to speak. "Jane, I just wanted to apologise for yesterday. I was completely wrong. If there's anything I can do to help you forgive me, just let me know." Jane remained in silence. "I read your essay. It was the only one worth reading. It wasn't what I was expecting at all." Jane finally looked up at Maura.

"Why'd you read it? I'm just this massive pain in the butt, right?” Maura began to speak but was cut off quickly. “You really want to make this right? Get to own opinion of me. Get to know me, I'm not all that bad."

"Jane, you're not a pain in the butt. You've been nothing but nice to me and I messed up." Jane smiled softly at Maura. Maura’s breath hitched. She wasn’t sure how the girl managed to make her so nervous but she knew she did. Maybe it was the fact she never knew how she was going to react next.  

"You can say that again. Clean slate? New star? Any other bullshit cliché?” Maura could only smile in response. She looked down for a few seconds unable to meet the girls gaze.

“You can leave whenever you’re ready. Just don’t put your feet on my desks!” Jane laughed throwing her things into her bag and rushing out of the door.


End file.
